Main menu

Post navigation

Robert Kondo

Robert Kondo works as a set / background designer for Disney / Pixar (meaning he was kind of the ‘mood setter’ for some of my favorite animations) , and was one of the forces behind my favorite project “Sketch Travel” as well. So, I’m pretty amazed I haven’t really heard about him except for recently – how silly I am. But, in the wide world filled with incredible artists, its better late than never.

His work is stylistically similar to Dice Tsutsumi, which means its amazing. Everything you see in his images are simplified down to only the necessities – but what is defined as a necessity is what is interesting here. The ideas are simple, the moments splendid and the characters placed in an environment which surpluses the kookiness of the entire scene. Its brilliantly done. Can’t say always like the ‘fuzzy brush’ thing he uses often, but that is simply aesthetic differences – I definitely like the child like “coloring book” effect it has, but for me its just a bit too much! I myself am a huge fan of pen and ink (as we all know), so his almost 101 Dalmations-esque pen and ink background sketches below are just heavenly for me. I always revel in the energy and instant gratification a pen and ink drawing delivers – and mixed with his vibrant palette it makes the pieces all the more exciting. His use of shadows (light vs. dark) brings an element of fantasy and drama to each piece, and it is wonderful to see such craftsmanship in action.
His work includes the short ‘La Luna’, Ratatouille, and Monsters University (and hopefully many, many more to come!)

Always been a big fan of Dice Tsutsumi, and so I am super excited to see his collaboration with Robert Kondo on The Dam Keeper. Check out some behind the scenes stuff below.